Extinction
by purplepagoda
Summary: This story is set after season 10, so don't read if you don't want to be spoiled. What if Scully was used as a pawn the hole time? What is the end-game? Maybe immunity is not all that is in play here. The truth has finally reunited Mulder, and Scully, but will they be able to stop what is to come? What if the goal is to repopulate the earth, and erase the human race?
1. In The Beginning There Was Paranoia

He rolls over, and finds her lying beside him, wide awake. He rolls towards her, and wraps his arm around her waist. He feels her chest rise, and fall, and he can sense her uneasiness. They have recently realized how deep the government conspiracy runs. She has been able to cure Mulder of his illness, and has had some success in vaccinated others. Finding their son proved far more complicated than either of them ever anticipated. Soon after beginning their search she learned that a third party took her son from the home in which he was placed. Initially she had considered that it was the government in an attempt to use him to unlock secrets. The truth of the matter is that the family whose care her son had been placed into was hired by the government to begin with. In her attempt to protect her son she had placed him in harm's way. Someone close to them had figured this out, unbeknownst to either herself, or Mulder. The boy was swiftly removed by someone close to them.

She asks herself how Skinner could have known. How could he have seen what she had been so blind to? He used contacts he had made along the way to remove the child from the family he was placed with. For nearly fifteen years the boy had been closer than either of them ever imagined. Their son had been under Walter's care. He was safe. He had saved Mulder's life, and his mother had been played like a fiddle. Not to draw the boy out of hiding, as Scully had suspected. Instead Scully had been used as a tool to increase the hybrid population.

It has been nearly two months since the outbreak, and as quickly as it began it ended. They know it is only a matter of time before the period of peace ends. It is only the calm before the storm. She thought she would sleep better knowing where their son was, but it doesn't seem to help. She feels responsible for what is to come. The fact that their son is merely down the hallway does nothing to lessen her guilt, or fear. She thought that her immunity was the gift, or curse she had been given for being used as a tool in this complex government plot engendered in conspiracy. Today's events make her question this. As she wrestles with sleep she wonders if she is still being used as a tool of the syndicate.

All along their goal was to increase the hybrid population. She feels highly unsettled as Mulder holds her. She can't shake the feeling, even as she knows her son is asleep just twenty feet away. She wriggles free from Mulder's grip, and exits the bed. Her bare feet hit the wood floor, she doesn't recoil even as the cold surface presses against the soles of her feet. She exits the room, and heads down the hallway. She stops in front of a wooden door, which is slightly ajar. She pushes the door open, and enters the room. She finds the TV on, and a teenager sitting at the end of his bed. He looks up at her, and grins. Without a word he turns off the game, and crawls underneath his covers.

Once she is satisfied that he is tucked in for the night she exits the room, closing the door behind her. She heads down the stairs into the kitchen. She turns on the light above the sink, and turns on the tap. She reaches into the cabinet removing a mug. She allows the mug to fill with water, and places it in the microwave. She pulls a box of chamomile tea out of the cabinet, and waits for the water to warm. Once the water is heated she drops the bag into the mug. She takes a seat at the table, and watches the tea as it steeps. She hears footsteps approaching her, but she doesn't look up. She stares motionlessly into her mug. The chair beside her pulls out, and he takes a seat next to her. Mulder breaks the silence that has enveloped their home. A home that should be filled with joy, happiness, and gratitude at a seemingly fairytale ending. The dark circles under her eyes, and the far-away look in her eyes tells him she is still being tormented by something.

"Dana," he begins.

She doesn't shift her glance to look at him. She inhales, and exhales, but her facial expression doesn't change. He reaches out, and touches the back of her hand, which rests on the surface of the table.

"Talk to me," he implores, "What are you thinking about?"

"What if Clyde Bruckman was right all along?"

"Scully, what are you talking about?"

"What if I don't die?"

He shakes his head, and rolls his eyes, "Scully you are not immortal."

"What if I am?"

"Why are you thinking about that?"

"What happened to you, to all of those people, it is only the beginning, Mulder. They knew what would happen. They knew the solution that I would come up with. I was used like a pawn to create a vaccine that would essentially create a hybrid population boom. This is only the tip of the iceberg. If this is the world that is being formed, I certainly don't want to be someone who is immortal."

"You are being paranoid," he tells her.

"Am I?"

"Yes," he insists.

"Those people are alive because of me."

"Scully that is a miracle."

She shakes her head, "Most of the people who were able to survive the vaccination were of child-bearing age. Do you think that is a coincidence?"

"People of child-bearing age tend to have better chances than the very young, or the very old. Scully what are you getting at?"

She doesn't answer him. His eyes widen as she removes the tea bag from her cup.

"Are you suggesting that there is going to be a baby boom?"

"That is exactly what I am suggesting."

"To what end, Scully?"

"To create more hybrids."

"Like our son?" He raises an eyebrow, "Our son is perfectly normal. He is fine."

"We are only beginning to see what he is capable of."

"What would the purpose behind this be?"

"Do you really have to ask that, Mulder?"

"Extinction?" The words clumsily fall from Mulder's lips like a ton of bricks.

"Total eradication of the entire human race."


	2. An Impossible Awakening

When she is certain that he has fallen back to sleep she exits the bed, for the second time that night. She glances at the clock, and notes that it is after five o'clock in the morning. She evacuates the bedroom, and heads down the hallway, once again. She peeks in on her son, and finds him snoring in his bed. She quietly tiptoes down the stairs, and descends the stairs, padding across the hardwood floor until she reaches bathroom. She enters the room, and closes the door behind her. She locks the door, and takes a seat on the edge of the bathtub. Her stomach churns as she reaches over to turn on the warm water. Once the water warms she places a plug in the tub. She crawls inside the warm bath water, and turns off the faucet. Her clothes lie on the floor. Her hair is secured in a clip as she leans her head against the back of the tub. She feels her heart beating more rapidly than usual. She closes her eyes, and tries to clear her head. Her mind wonders. She hopes to feel better. The bath does little to ease her anxiety. As she tries to ease her mind her thoughts race, and loop, until she can think of only one thing. Her stomach continues to churn.

She drains the tub, and crawls out of the bath water. She dries her body off with a towel, and pulls her robe on. She tries to convince herself that her unsettled stomach is just a psychosomatic complaint. As she finds herself kneeling on the tile floor, with her head in the toilet she gets the sinking feeling that is not the case. She proceeds to empty the contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl. Eventually the nausea subsides, and she is able to get off the floor. She flushes, and retreats to the sink. She thoroughly brushes her teeth, and swishes her mouth out. In the back of her mind she knows that her physical symptoms are not going to subside in a quick fashion. She knows that what is ailing her must take its course, as this is the second day that she has felt this way.

She opens the cabinet, and retrieves the item she bought the previous day. She removes it from the bag, and rips open the box. She rolls her eyes as she proceeds with the process, feeling completely, and totally ridiculous. She wonders if maybe Mulder is right, and she is being paranoid, as this is far outside of the realm of possibility. Have the events of the past days, and weeks caused her to have a mental break? She ponders this as a more serious possibility as she sits on the lid of toilet for several moments. In that time she is able to convince herself that she is being completely irrational, and that her train of thought is somehow flawed. She vacates her seat on the toilet, and moves to the counter. She looks at the counter-top, and the evidence stares back up at her. Before she has any time to process this, someone knocking on the door disrupts her thought process.

"Scully?" A familiar voice summons her.

She takes a deep breath, and unlocks the door. She pulls the door open, and finds Mulder on the other side.

"I thought that you went back to sleep?"

"I couldn't sleep," she admits.

"What are you doing in here?"

"I took a bath," she answers.

He looks past her, and sees a bag, and an empty box lying in the wastepaper basket. He shakes his head.

"Scully you are being irrational. I know that I am usually the one with outlandish theories, but even this is a little far-fetched for me."

She nods understandingly, as she reaches into the pocket of her robe, and pulls out hard-evidence. He holds out his hand, and she places the object into the palm of his hand.

"Is it Mulder?" She asks as she squeezes past him. She heads up the stairs to acquire clothes, leaving him standing in the doorway of the bathroom. After a few moments of feeling completely paralyzed he is able to move. He heads up the stairs, and locates Scully in their bedroom. She stands in the closet, pulling on a pair of pants. She buttons the pants, and proceeds to remove a shirt off the hanger. She pulls the shirt on, and begins to button it. She turns towards him when she is finished.

"Do you believe me now?" She queries.

"I want to believe," he insits.

"Mulder," she tilts her head.

He shakes his head as he looks at her, "I'm not sure what to believe," he answers more honestly.

She exits the closet, and goes to the bedroom door.

"Where are you going?" he asks her.

"Nowhere," she answers as she closes the door. She reaches into the pocket of her robe, which rests on a hook on the back of their bedroom door. He stands in front of the bed, waiting for further explanation. She pulls out another handful of evidence. Mulder hands one piece of evidence, and she places four more in his hand.

"Three is the burden of scientific proof," she reminds him.

He stares at the five identical objects, and then shifts his gaze to her. He shakes his head in utter confusion.

"Scully, I don't understand. How is this possible? What is going on here?"

"Mulder, it's simple," she insists.

He stands before her waiting for an explanation, fully aware of the fact that it is never simple.


	3. An Elaborate Orchestration

He stands in front of her, in their bedroom. He thinks about everything that they have been through in the past twenty three years. He remembers being the one accused of being paranoid, and unrealistic. He looks at her facial expression, trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation. He wants to tell her that she is being paranoid, and that this possibility is less than zero, in reality. He wonders if she is just grasping at straws of years that were misspent with him. He exhales, knowing that he is the one responsible for taking this reality away from her. He scrutinizes her facial expression. There are dark circles under her eyes, and she stares back at him with a look in her eyes that he has seen before a handful of times. It isn't a look of joy, or excitement. She wears a look of fear. He realizes that it is more than that, the truth of the matter is the look on her face screams of sheer terror. She breaks eye contact, and her eyes fall to the objects in his hands. Five plastic white sticks, with digital read outs. Every single one of them says the exact same thing. He carefully places them on his bedside stand, and then returns to her side. He pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her. His lips vibrate against her ear.

"It's going to be okay," he reassures her, expecting this to calm her. Instead it only angers her. She pushes him away from her. The vein in her forehead pulsates, and her facial expression as shifted from fear, or terror, to pure anger. Her nostrils flare, and he waits for her to verbalize the reality of the situation.

"Mulder, how many times have we faced things that are completely outside the realm of known possibility?"

"A million. Scully this is not a remote possibility. No matter how much either of us wants it to be, I just don't feel like it is."

"Are you saying that you don't believe me?"

"I am saying that I don't know how to believe a lot of the evidence that has brought to our attention."

"I don't know how to ingest this, either."

"Scully, what are you telling me?"

"Mulder, I'm pregnant," she finally exhales.

He struggles to come up with the right response. Finally he answers simply, "I know."  
She shakes her head, "All along they were testing us. The syndicate, that bastard, they were waiting for the right time. Maybe he had this planned all along."

"Scully, you don't know that he has anything to do with this," he tries to reassure her.

"How many rounds of IVF did we go through?" She questions.

He shrugs, "I lost count to be honest."

"After my cancer there was supposed to be a zero percent likelihood of this happening."

"I know."

"And then I got pregnant with William."

He remains silent. She shakes her head, and her faces turns red as her anger grows, "And after he was born it was as nothing had changed. This shouldn't be happening. I am too old. I am broken, or defective, or…" she swallows hard, and trails off.

"You think that this is a government conspiracy?"

"Maybe it has been all along. The past twenty three years may have been one hundred percent orchestrated by…"

He cuts her off, "I can't believe that. We have free will. How could anyone know what either one of us would do?"

"Because they used us like pawns, Mulder."

"How would this suddenly be possible?"

"What if it could be turned on just as easily as it was turned off, but only by…." she trails off, once again, trying to push such a repulsive thought from her mind.

"How could they have turned it back on? You weren't subjected to any testing."

"It could have been something as run of the mill as the flu shot," she theorizes.

"Didn't you get a flu shot in the fall?"

"Our hospital had a shortage of the vaccine, as did my primary care provider. I didn't even get vaccinated until December."

"If you're right…" she cuts him off.

"It will be more than just me," she points out, "There is going to be a population explosion."

A heaviness fills the room, and envelopes them. He takes a seat on the floor, kicking his feet out in front of him. Without a word she lowers herself to the ground as well. She scoots her body up against the closed bedroom door. Her legs are crossed in front of her, and he faces her, trying to process all of the information that he has just supplied her with. He struggles to keep his non-verbals neutral. He feels conflicted as he synthesizes this new information. He looks up, and his eyes fall on her face. The look on her face tells him he's not the only one.

She feels as if she can't get any oxygen to her lungs. It suddenly seems difficult to breathe. The room feels like it is shrinking, and the walls are closing in on her. She has dedicated her entire life to serving. Her life goal has been to help other people. For so many years when she saw her own reflection in the mirror she saw herself as a protector, but this morning something was different. This morning, she saw someone, something else. Instead of seeing a protector, she saw a monster. A monster responsible for the eventual destruction of the entire human race. Her pulse races, and the color drains from her face as she thinks about the shape the world has taken on, because of her.

Mulder clears his throat, and breaks the silence. "Dana, breathe."

She looks up, and finds that he is dangerously close to her. Her instinct is to push him away, even though he is close enough that she can feel his breath on her skin. Everything inside of her says to cut, and run. She is like a plague. She is like a big dark cloud hanging over the people that she loves the most, like a curse. She feels pressure on her leg. She looks down, and finds Mulder's hand resting on her leg. She looks into his eyes, and instead of turning towards the solitude she has known for such a long time, she turns towards him. He kisses her face.

"I'm right here, always," he reminds her.


	4. The Reheating Calculation

She finds herself enveloped in fear. Her palms begin to sweat, and she wonders when she is going to wake up. He holds her close to her body. His arms are wrapped around her, and she waits for him to slip away into the darkness. She expects to open her eyes, and find a nightmare worse than the one that she is already in. She blinks, he lets go, and she leans back. She shifts from a sitting position. She lies down on the floor, indicating defeat. She expects him to disappear. Her neurons scream at her, saying that he will leave, he always does. She anticipates him disappearing with the horizon. She looks to her left, and finds him lying on the floor next to her. He doesn't question her. She waits for him to verbalize another theory, but her heart tells her that she's not wrong.

He looks over at her, and smiles, "If lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me, and just forget the world?" He sings.

She can't force herself to smile, as she still feels the darkness surrounding her like a mushroom cloud. Her lips betray her, "Forget what we're told, before we get too old, show me a garden that's bursting into life."

His smile doesn't fade as he continues, "All that I am, all that I ever was, is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see."

She feels a chill deep in her bones, as her mind races. Her neurons fire over, and over again, reminding her of the worst case scenario. He was right all along, she tells herself. Her throat fills with bile, and she shoots into a standing position. She races out of the room into the bathroom. She proceeds to the toilet, lifting the seat just in time. Her hair is in her way as she leans forward. Hands grab her hair at the last minute, preventing contamination. He stands behind her, as she proceeds to have an episode of emesis. When it's over he helps her to her feet. He watches her in silence as she brushes, and swishes. She stands in the bathroom, in front of vanity. He catches her looking in the mirror.

She sees her own reflection. For a moment her mind transforms her into something else… the monster that she has seen in her dreams. She is quickly returned to reality, when she sees his face. He steps forward, and wraps his arms around her. She suddenly feels very small. Her anxiety rises, as she considers that all along her life has been totally out of her control. She suddenly feels very dizzy, as if she's spiraling out of control. Without a single word he senses something is wrong. He leads her out of the room, and helps her into their bed. She lies atop the covers, and he joins her.

"Why don't you get some rest?" He suggests, "You barely slept a wink last night."

He lies next to her, until she drifts into a state of unconsciousness. Hours later she wakes up, and the sun is brightly showing through the curtains. She opens her eyes, and finds that she is alone in the room. She takes in the silence, and contemplates the true meaning of what she's feeling. The confusion, the apprehension, the anxiety, and the utter sense of betrayal. As her chest rises, and falls she wonders if this is about the bigger picture. She takes a deep breath, and her heart rate slows. She tries to collect her thoughts, and form a more rational pattern. This isn't about his fears, she realizes. Her emotional state is deeply rooted in her own fears. An eternity without him. Facing this world on her own. It isn't even about human versus alien, or the extinction of the human race. It is about the disappearance of humanity. Her train of thought is interrupted by the sound of feet racing up the stairs. She sits up, just as the door opens. A tall, lanky figure appears in the doorway.

"Mom, lunch is ready, if you're hungry," he announces.

Her anxiety suddenly disappears as she stares at the face of her teenaged boy. Her heart rate slows further. Her lips shift into a grin.

"Thank you. I'll be down in a minute," she answers. She expects him to disappear down the stairs, but instead he enters the room. He stops next to the bed, as she throws her legs over the side. She looks up at his innocent face. He offers her a hand. She smiles at him.

"I'm okay. Go eat, before your food gets cold. I'll be down in a minute," she instructs him.

"Okay," he nods, and turns away.

When she makes it into the kitchen she finds Mulder setting a casserole dish on the table. William puts out silverware, and she feels a sense of peace.

"Please tell me that isn't tuna casserole," she looks at Mulder.

William looks up at her, "No. It's baked chicken alfredo casserole."

She grins as she looks at the boy, "So that means that you cooked?" She guesses.

He nods in confirmation.

Mulder interjects, "Scully are you saying that you don't trust my cooking?"

She shakes her head, "I am just saying that you have cooked some questionable things in the past."

"Name one thing," he answers.

"Spinach quiche," she replies.

He laughs, "It was frozen. I didn't think it would be that complicated."

"It was still frozen when you served it."

William shakes his head, "You're saying that he can't even properly re-heat food?"

Scully chuckles, "I do believe that has been discussed in the past."


	5. Alienation

She stands on the front porch, staring up at the night sky. She wears a grey, oversized Oxford hoodie. She hears the screen door close. Her hands rest on the railing of the porch. The crisp night air doesn't deter her. He stops when he reaches her side. The future feels like the cool crisp air on this May night. He doesn't break the silence, or derail her train of thought. He simply reaches over, and places his hand on hers. Her wrist turns, and his fingers encircle hers. All of the possibilities lay before them just as numerous as the stars in the night sky. Some seemingly just as far away. He turns his body towards her, but she remains steadfast. She stares out into the great wide open. She looks up at the night sky, as if she is searching for answers, that aren't contained within the soil on which they are standing. He reaches up, and tucks her hair behind her ears. He presses his lips to her temple. Her lips curl into a smile.

"It's getting cold," he tells her.

She turns towards him with a dark look in her eyes, "It's always cold."

He shakes his head at her pessimism, "And dark, too."

"It's the only way to see the stars," she answers him.

He grins, "Ain't that the truth?"

"Where is William?"

"He's up on the roof," he answers, nonchalantly.

"What?!"

Her hand pulls away from his. She steps past him. She plants her feet on the ground just off the porch. She turns, and looks at the house. She finds her on standing on the roof with a telescope.

"William?" She calls out. He takes his eye off the telescope, and looks down at her.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?" She questions.

"He said it was okay," he reveals.

"Get off the roof!"

He hangs his head, and nods in disappointment, "Yes, ma'am."

Mulder joins her. He looks up at the fifteen year old, "I'll help you bring it back inside. You can bring it down here."

"Okay."

Scully shoots Mulder with a disapproving look, "I don't know who needs more guidance, you, or our teenager."

"Probably me. He has half of your genetics, and I got… well, I prefer not to reflect on that," he shudders.

She rolls his eyes, as he heads back into the house. He disappears inside. Hours later William has headed back inside, and passed out on the couch, reading. Mulder heads back outside, and find that Scully is still sitting on the porch. He sits down next to her, with a couple of beers in hand. He looks over at her, and offers her a cold one.

"I can't," she answers.

He sets the beer on the table between them. He heads down the rabbit hole with her.

"Maybe the tests were wrong. You do like scientific evidence," he points out.

"I have a doctor's appointment in the morning," she tells him.

"Do you really think that this is a conspiracy?"

"I would like to think that it's not, and I can't believe I am about to say this, but…" she trails off.

"But, what?"

"It seems like the most logical explanation."

"You're suggesting that you are the first of many, right?"

"Yes," she nods in confirmation.

"What if you are? What are you suggesting? Are you saying that in order to preserve our race we should ensure that these life forms do not come to fruition?"

"That is certainly not what I am suggesting."

"What are you proposing?"

"I would like to suggest that we go further off the grid. My brain says we should go into hiding, but rationally I know it wouldn't be enough. There is no place that the conspiracy can't reach."

"You're sounding paranoid. May I suggest psychotropic medication?"

"I have been suggesting them to you for years without any avail."

"Why do you think that this is happening?"

She shrugs, "Maybe the cigarette man is trying to test us."

"Do you think that he is responsible for all of this?"

"I think there are a lot of things that he is responsible for that neither of us care to admit."

"Are you saying that you think he is the reason that we are together?" He asks with a serious tone.

She stares into his hazel eyes, and contemplates whether to answer truthfully, or tell him what he wants to hear.

"Mulder I think that he is the reason that we were put together in the first place," admittedly.

"I wouldn't disagree," he concedes.

"But I don't think he is responsible for the way that we feel about each other."

"He has tried to drive a wedge between us at every turn," he points out.

"His intention was to shut you down, but in adding a foil to your character, his plan backfired. He anticipated that I would foil your plans, and discredit your findings."

"Your dissent, and disapproval made my desire to find the truth anymore."

"Are you satisfied with the truth that you have found thus far?"

"Whatever truth is out there, Scully, I have already found mine."

She furrows her brow, "What the hell are you talking about? We are still at the dark end of a flashlight."

"You are the truth."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You show me that there is a different way to see the world. You're like an epidemic, I tried to vaccinate myself against. I find that every time you come back you're stronger than you were before."

She furrows her brow in dissatisfaction, "You are likening me to an epidemic? Is that supposed to be flattering?"

"Yes. Epidemics adapt, and change to their surroundings."

"If I am an epidemic what does that make you? The host?"

He smiles, "I admit my analogy may be a little flawed, because let's face it, I am just some stupid man who alienates you every opportunity that I get."

"Alienate?"

"That was a poor choice of words," he admits.

A smile creeps across her face, and she lowers her voice, "Maybe tonight, I want to alienate you," she teases.

"Well, I'm certainly not going to argue with you," he grins.


	6. Post-Alienation

Her slender figure floats through the parking lot toward the large metal box on wheels that she procured some time ago to aid in her personal transport. Her fingers dive into the pocket of her purse, and fish around until they wrap around a cold metallic object. As he retrieves the car keys her mind wanders. Her fingers caress the plastic buttons on her key until she hears the rhythmic pop of the lock. She considers another metal object, one that is far smaller than a set of car keys. A tiny chip that she held in the palm of her hands that changed the entire course of her life. She shakes he thought from her head as she feels the composite material that is suddenly in the palm of her hand. She takes a step backward, and pulls.

The car door flies open, and she proceeds to mold her body into the driver's seat. She slams the door closed, and continues the process by jamming the keys into the ignition. Her brain cues her to put on her seat belt, and turn over the ignition, but she sits in the silent vehicle, feeling paralyzed. She doesn't instinctively reach for her seat belt. Instead, she leans back in her seat, and stares blankly through the windshield. She sees a concrete beam outside of her car.

This certainly is not how she envisioned the end of the world. Dating back to her days spent in mass as a child, she anticipated that the apocalypse would encircle the earth in fire, and brimstone. Instead the initial events would soon be forgotten, though she is aware they are a harbinger of a serious, and life-altering paradigm shift. A paradigm shift that will play out over decades, instead of days. Life-altering changes that will initially begin in a subtle manner. The process will be time consuming, and be more reminiscent of an evolutionary process than the degeneration of mankind. She realizes though the major event has only just occurred the shift has been in play for hundreds of years, maybe even longer. Far before Roswell the shift was already taking place. The ground work was already being laid.

The invention of the light bulb, and the telephone. The creation of vaccinations, and too few people placing mistrust in the government. Then there is the little known fact regarding the government owned media. Initiatives aimed at preventing disease, that are used only to disguise true intentions. Efforts to catalog the effects of disease, and wellness on different populations. A wide-scale, unpublicized study on the strongest, healthiest members of human-kind. Undoubtedly a mixture of people from different races, classes, and capacities. On to the chemical shit storm food scientist delivered to weaken the weak, and eliminate them through a process similar to natural selection.

A voice in her head screams at her, ' _You're leaping down the rabbit hole'_! She exhales, and her fingers wrap around the steering wheel. Though she wants to rationalize these thoughts as utter paranoia related to spending too much time around Mulder, she knows the truth. She may not be one hundred percent correct, but she isn't too far off the mark. She glances to her right. Her purse is perched on the leather surface of her passenger's seat. All of this, she realizes, has only been a distraction from the present, and the matters at hand. She has spent the entire day deflecting. The communication device lies at rest in her cup holder. It soon begins to vibrate angrily. She glances at the screen, and hesitantly pulls it to her ear. She sighs, trying to relieve tensions before answers.

"Scully, I have mixed feelings about you being so devious when your end goal is to distract me."

"Mulder, I don't know what you're talking about."

"I believe that the goal of last night's alienation, was to get me to be asleep so you could sneak out of the house this morning, without me."

"I am heading home now," she fibs.

"Really?"

"Yes," she insists.

Knuckles tap against the surface of the glass window to her left. With her right hand she holds the phone to her ear. She turns her body, and finds her accomplice, her partner in crime, and several other endeavors, standing next to her car. She disconnects the phone call, returning the device to the cup holder. She proceeds to roll down the window.

"What are you doing here?"

"I tracked your precise location to this parking garage," he divulges.

"Thank you for your honesty."

"Do you have a clandestine meeting with a confidential source?"

She rolls her eyes, "You are the one who partakes in clandestine meetings with sketchy, yet confidential sources in settings such as this," pointedly.

"Are you meeting someone here?"

"I never said that I was."

"Scully sometimes I think that you have been infected with robot DNA."

She furrows her brow, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"When things get too complicated you just shut down."

"Thank you for your vote of confidence," she grimaces.

"Always."

"Where is William?"

"Scully, it is Monday morning, our teenager is required by law to be in school, in case you forgot. It is nearly nine o'clock in the morning, so I dropped him off there before I tracked you down."

"Right," she nods, clearly preoccupied.

"What kind of nut is hard to crack?"

She furrows her brow in confusion, "Is this some sort of clue to a crossword puzzle?"

He meets her response with wit, "If I say yes will you answer my question?"

"I will humor you, because I find that it makes the conversation go more quickly. Although, I believe you could probably just as easily have googled the answer, I do believe that the macadamia nut is the toughest to crack."

"So, clearly, you are a macadamia nut."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You only open up with lots of pressure."

"You could try a different approach," she proposes.

"For example?"

"You could try not to be cryptic."


	7. Waking Up

He climbs into the passenger's seat of her car. He sets her purse on the floor by his feet, and closes the door. He turns towards her, and allows a period of silence in an effort to allow her to collect her thoughts. She stares back at him with a look of fear on her face. He reaches over, and squeezes her hand. He chooses to break the silence.

"Scully, I know in the past I have always been the one to suggest completely irrational things, but what you presented me with yesterday was hard for me to wrap my head around. I want to believe," he tells her.

"Seeing is believing," she quips.

"Scully tell me what you have seen," he implores.

"You can see for yourself," she points to her purse.

He scans the area near his feet. The corner of a piece of glossy paper sticks out from the inside of her purse. He reaches down, and gently tugs on the paper. The page readily flies out of the purse, and into his hands. He doesn't examine the evidence immediately. He places the image on the console, between them. He gazes at the love of his life. He drinks in her facial expression, and her body language. What she projects tells him that the situation is every bit as grave as she had anticipated, or possibly even worse. Her blue eyes look weary, and grey today. He feels his heart skip a beat, as he prays for her to be the one to interrupt the awkward silence this time.

"Mulder, it is worse than I originally anticipated," she informs him.

"In what way?"

"In every way," she admits.

"I'm listening," he answers.

She scoffs, "That is rare."

"I have gained some maturity, and insight over the years, Scully."

"The receptionist informed me that my appointment would be delayed by half an hour, because they had a higher patient volume than usual."

"That could be for any number of reasons."

"She said that they had an unusually high number of newly pregnant patients."

"She did not say that," he argues.

"She may not have phrased it that way, but it was the message she conveyed."

"What was determined in your case?"

"I have been going to the same OB/GYN for ten years," she prefaces the story.

"And?"

"He looked at me like I was crazy," she answers.

* * *

 _The air blowing from vent overhead elicits a shiver, as she sits on an exam table in an eight by ten room wearing nothing more than a blue paper gown. There is a knock on the door, and the physician enters the room._

" _Dana, nice to see you. What brings you in today?"_

" _Dr. Carter I am concerned."_

" _That was obvious when you called. I typically only see you on routine exams. What's going on?"_

" _I missed my menstrual cycle."_

" _I certainly think that it is possible that you are entering the menopausal phase of your life."_

" _I haven't been feeling well," she adds._

 _He glances at her chart, and shrugs, "I see the symptoms you have been having here. I am not entirely concerned. There has been a lot of illness lately, and it may just be a virus."_

" _Everything you are saying sounds completely reasonable," she agrees._

" _You don't agree?"_

" _This morning before I came in I had a blood panel run on myself."_

" _What did you conclude?"_

" _I brought a copy of them. The nurse placed them on the chart, near the back, I believe."_

 _He flips through the pages until he finds lab results. He stares at the blood panel in confusion, and shakes his head._

" _Do you really feel that this is a possibility? I suspect that this is a false positive result."_

" _I would like to find out for certain."_

 _He nods in agreement, "Let me grab my nurse, and we can find out right now," he agrees._

 _He finishes his physical exam, and then leaves the room to retrieve his nurse. They enter the room, wash their hands, dry them, and don gloves. The doctor sits by as the nurse turns on the imaging machine._

* * *

He blinks, waiting for her to finish the story. She stops abruptly, and does not continue. He prompts her.

"Then what?"

He watches as her index finger points to the image sitting between them on her console. Her lips move, and the words tumble from her mouth, "It is worse than originally anticipated."

"Worse how? Were you wrong? Is there something wrong?"

"Just look at the picture, Mulder," she suggests.

He nods in agreement, and slides the picture out from under her finger. As he studies the image his eyebrows furrow. He spends several moments examining every detail of the picture. He notes her name, as well as her birthdate printed on the top of the image. The current date, and the time of the exam are also printed on the image. Under the printed portion is an image. He studies the cluster of cells. His eyes wander to a second cluster of cells. He exhales, "What am I looking at here, Scully?" He implores her to open up, and state the obvious. He waits for the words to fall from her lips.

"I wasn't wrong, Mulder."

"Tell me what I am looking at," he insists.

She takes the image from his hands, and holds it up for him to see. Her finger points to one peanut-like shape, "Here is one embryo." His finger moves another portion of the image.

"Would that mean this is a second embryo?" He questions.

"Yes," she nods in confirmation.

He scrutinizes her facial expression, and he can see that she is rattled.

"To summarize, what you are saying is; that at your current age, and highly unlikely, damn near impossible likelihood of conceiving, somehow not only have you managed to conceive, but the conception process has led to twins? You are telling me that you are currently pregnant with twins, and that they were conceived through an old fashioned process, despite the fact that you are fifty two years old?"

"That is what I am saying," she nods in confirmation.

"Do you have any idea how crazy all of this sounds?"

"Yes."

"How is this possible?"

"It isn't, and that is precisely my point."

"Yet, here we are, sitting in the car, staring at some pretty damning evidence."

She breaks eye contact. Her gaze affixes to the image that Mulder has returned to its resting place on the console between them. She clenches her jaw, and her nostrils flare. She exhales, hoping to keep tears at bay. She shakes her head in frustration.

"I don't know how to process this information. This is impossible, and yet here we are. The explanation to how this possibly could have happened is completely implausible, so why do I keep coming to the same conclusion?"


	8. Surreal

The sky is grey, and ominous as they turn down their driveway. As they exit the car they are surrounded by silence, and heavy clouds filled with rain hanging over their heads. He follows her into the house. She takes a seat on the couch, and stares blankly at the wall. He takes a seat next to her, and waits for her to end the unbearable silence. She refuses to make eye contact. Her head feels as if it is spinning in circles as she sits still. She tries to focus on anything other than most unlikely scenario that is playing out before her. She exhales, and closes her eyes. She hears the clock on the wall ticking reminding her that time refuses to stand still. She inhales, and sucks in the scent of soap. She opens eyes, and without turning towards him she knows his eyes are on her. Her heart races, and her thoughts refuse to stop. She feels as if the walls are closing in around her.

"I think that we need to change our approach," he interrupts the silence.

In what seems like slow motion she turns towards him, "What do you mean?"

He shakes his head, "We can't save the world. We are not responsible for the fate of the entire human race."

"What are you saying?"

"We have allowed the pursuit of the truth to drastically alter the course of our lives. Where has our relentlessness gotten us?"

She shrugs, and shakes her head, "Here."

He nods, "Exactly, Scully. Everything we have pursued, and everything that we know has gotten us here. We live our lives in limbo just waiting for the next shoe to drop. We have a son who has spent his entire life apart from us, because we were trying to protect him from the things that we know to be true. At every single turn we have pushed away human contact. We have pushed each other away more times than I can count. We are both guilty of shutting the entire world out, and where has it gotten us? What good is the truth if we can't live our lives in peace? I think about the time that we lost, and I ask myself, was it worth it?"

She furrows her brow, "What do you mean?"

"The time that we lost with each other, was it worth it? The time that we lost with our son, was it worth it? We missed out on all those moments that make us human. We skipped birthdays, and reunions, and parties because we were sucked into a black hole. We sacrificed social calendars, and relationships for this. We have nothing to show for it. We know the truth, but what good is that if our health and happiness are the cost? I'm done."

"Done with what? Is this where you go off the reservation, and try to sacrifice yourself for my happiness? You can't just turn away every time things get hard. Mulder I have tried it, and it doesn't work. In the end we end up bitter, and…"

He shakes his head, "No that isn't what I am suggesting."

"Then what are you suggesting?" Her nostrils flare. Her cheeks burn in anger.

"Scully it is time to walk away from the X-files."

"That is what they want."

"And it is time that we give it to them."

"If we walk away they win."

"And if we don't, we lose," he insists.

"You are telling me that you are going to give up on your life's work?"

"Knowing the truth does not allow us to alter the course of the future. All we can do is prepare ourselves accordingly. I don't want to do this anymore."

"I want to know the truth. I want answers, dammit!"

"This is where we make a choice," he points out, "We choose the X-files, or we choose ourselves. If we don't walk away now there will be nothing to come home to."

She shakes her head, and her cheeks burn as a tear falls from her eye, "You don't get it. We aren't going to have anything to come home to if we do."

"You are worried about the destruction of humanity, and I'm just worried about losing you," he responds with a strong sense of candor.

"If we give up now we can't stop it," she argues.

"Nothing we do is going to stop it."

"You are unbelievable. For the past twenty three years you have been talking about finding the truth, and how to bring it to light. We are closer than we have ever been, and now you want to walk away? It's like you're telling me that all of those sacrifices were for nothing."

"The X-files are just a barrier between us. I have seen it happen. They reel us in every time, and then they drive a wedge between us. By the time we find the truth we are standing on opposite sides. I am tired of the game, Scully."

"You are going to give up, just like that?"

"Like that," his tone increase, "I am not just giving up. I am trying to tell you that my priorities are straight, and you can't seem to hear me. I just want my family… I just want you. I know that you're not ready to give up. I am not asking you to."

"What are you asking me?"

"It is time to walk away from the X-files. We will find another way," he vows.

"How?"

"Please," he implores.

Before she can answer his arms are snaking around her like a python. He presses his lips to the top of her head. Her body rests against his chest, and she can feel him inhale, and exhale. She presses her hand to his chest, and she can feel his heart beating in a slow, rhythmic pace.

"I am not running, anymore. I am right here. I need you to believe me. I need you to trust me. I know we have conditioned ourselves to trust no one. Trust me."


	9. Two Rights

The room is dark, void for the red digital read out of her alarm clock. She lies on her side, with her eyes wide open. His words echo in her head, _"Trust me,"_. She wants so badly to trust him. She knows that she has to make a choice. She can envision herself slipping out of the house, and disappearing with the darkness. She wonders if she has been the darkness all along. If she packs her bags, and never turns around will it follow her? Will the love of her life, and their son be allowed to live in the light if she vanishes into the dusk? It seems as Mulder has been evolving, as she has be devolving into someone she doesn't even recognize. She longs for the truth that lingers around them. She craves to reach out, and grab it. She can walk away. She shakes the thought from her head. She could disappear, but he would never let her go. He would chase her to the end of the earth, and he would never be free. Things were much easier when she had no one to be accountable to. In the pit of her stomach she feels the ball of guilt growing, at the thought of walking away. Her mind wanders to events earlier in her day.

 _The three individuals in the room stare at the screen in utter confusion. The technician tightens the frame, and makes the image grow larger._

 _"There are two of them," she points._

 _Dr. Carter studies the images on the screen, and then looks at Scully. She feels fear beginning to bubble up inside of her._

 _"I'm sorry," he apologizes, "You were right, doubly so."  
_

* * *

When she wakes up the following morning he notes that she has become radio silent. They continue with their lives as if nothing has changed, and that they have learned nothing new. They continue their trek to the FBI each day, without further discussion on the subject. The days turn to weeks, and he can't help but feel the void between them fill with all of the things that are being left unsaid. Late one night she comes down the stairs in her pajamas for a glass of water. She finds him sitting at the kitchen table in his pajamas watching a clip on the computer. He pauses the video, as her hand touches his shoulder. She peers over his shoulder.

"It is getting late," she points out.

"I'll be up soon," he promises her.

"What are you watching?" She queries.

"Porn," he lies, with his window still open.

She leans forward, and glances at the screen. "That is the news."

"It is just if far less exciting than porn, but it is responsible for far more marital problems," he theorizes.

"What are you watching?"

"Don't worry about it," he suggests.

"Mulder," she chides him.

"I was watching a mainstream news story…"

She cuts him off, "What is the world coming to? You are watching mainstream news? I believe that it is possible you have been replaced by a doppelganger."

"I think that about you all of the time," he admits, with a slight grin on his face.

She exhales, and pulls out the chair next to him. She takes a seat next to him. She scrutinizes every detail of his face. There are dark circles under his eyes, and his forehead is wrinkled. His lips have pooled into a frown, and he doesn't make eye contact.

"What is on your mind? You don't usually watch mainstream news at eleven o'clock on a Friday night."

"I was just watching some clips when this popped up," he admits.

"What is it?" She inquires.

"It is a statement from planned parenthood that they are experiencing a shortage of plan B. The reporter compiled a list of pharmacies that are currently out of the product. A representative for one of the manufacturing companies explained that demand has increased, and that they aren't able to keep up. Abortion clinics are having to put women on waiting lists, because they have too many clients."

"What are you talking about?"

He points to the screen, "There has been a spike in pregnancy rates over the past several weeks. OB/GYN's are reporting spikes in unplanned pregnancies. They are also reporting inexplicable increases in newly confirmed pregnancies in patients who have struggled with infertility. They are saying that these women have spontaneously become pregnant through natural means."

"Why are you telling me this?" She wonders.

"Women are afraid that they are gestating lifeforms that are something other than human," he insists.

"It is not uncommon to see a spike in pregnancies after epidemic periods, or even after events such as natural disasters, or wars," she points out.

"Now you're saying that this is not an attempt to eradicate the human race?" He cocks an eye brow.

"I certainly have to hope that it isn't," she replies.

"What if it was?" He poses the question.

"What are you asking me?" She wonders.

"I am asking you what you would do if it was. If you knew with one hundred percent certainty that it was, what would you do? If you knew that you were pregnant with a life-form that was not human would you abort it?"

"I have no way to know what I would do in that situation," she informs him.

He locks eyes with her, "I am asking you to forget about your religious reservations. I want to know what your gut is telling you."

"I don't want to have this conversation with you."

"Now?" He pushes.

"Ever," she admits.

"You haven't said two words about this for a month. There was confirmation, and since then you have pretended that nothing has happened," he prompts.

"Are you accusing me of something?"

"No. I am just asking you a question."

"You should already know the answer," she argues.

"You surprise me all of the time."

"I wouldn't," she insists.

"How do I know that?"

"You are being delusional, and paranoid," she warns him.

"How do I know?"

"Because I was already given the opportunity," she admits.

His eyes widen, "Excuse me?"


	10. Selective Reduction Revelation

They sit in the comfort of their home, but neither one of them feels a sense of comfort. He sits in a wooden chair at their kitchen table, with his partner, and the love of his life sitting to his left. He studies her facial expression, and notes that it is wrought with guilt. She has been cold, and emotionally distant for weeks. He originally thought she was just having difficulty processing all of the new information they have learned alongside the fact that their caseload has not changed. He is just now considering the possibility that she has been keeping something from him.

"Are you telling me that you are no longer pregnant?"

"That is not what I am saying at all. Mulder, you're not listening to me."

"You just said that you have been given the opportunity."

"Will you let me explain myself?"

He nods in agreement, owing her as much.

* * *

 _Earlier that morning she finds herself being ushered into her OB/GYN's office. She sits in an exam room with her phone in hand, waiting for her phone to ring, and for Mulder to tell her that they have to jet off to some remote location to partake in a case involving the paranormal. There is a knock on the door, and the physician enters the room. He takes a seat, and studies the look on Dana's face._

" _How are things going? How are you feeling? I was surprised when I heard that you called to make an earlier appointment, your next appointment isn't for two weeks. Are you still experiencing morning sickness?"_

" _Yes," she confirms._

" _Something is bothering you, what is it?"_

" _I have had a scant amount of bleeding, and I just want to make sure that there isn't anything going on."_

" _I totally understand."_

 _He performs a pelvic exam, and then briefly exits the room. He returns with a nurse, and they begin performing an ultrasound. He studies the images on the screen carefully. He finishes with the ultrasound, and the nurse hands him a Doppler. The room is suddenly filled with the sound of beating hearts. He finishes the exam, and the nurse leaves the room. Scully wipes the sticky gel off of her abdomen._

" _Everything checks out. Their growth is on track, and their heart rates are well within normal limits."_

" _I sense you have some reservations? Is there something anomalous?"_

" _No, but I do need to have a difficult conversation with you."_

" _Okay," she agrees._

" _You and I both know that from the second that we confirmed your pregnancy last month that you were placed into a category of high risk. You have been placed into that category based on your age, as well as the fact that you are carrying twins. We both know that you are at higher risk for pregnancy complications, genetic disorders, as well as preterm labor. We cannot change your age. We can however change those odds, if you chose to undergo selective reduction. I typically do not recommend that for twin pregnancies, but your case is different. I want to let you know that it is an option."_

" _I would prefer not to bring this topic of discussion up again. I am not going to selectively reduce anything, or anyone. I am well aware of the risks."_

" _You should also be aware that I will suggest genetic testing…"_

 _She cuts him off, "I understand that it is the standard of care. I do not want to undergo genetic testing, and I do not want to be presented with the option of termination again."_

" _Understood."_

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me this?" He queries.

"What did you want me to say?"

"Stop acting like a fortress, and let me in."

"That is what landed me in this situation in the first place," she reminds him.

"You haven't even mentioned this topic since a month ago," he points out.

"I'm sorry, but I needed some time to wrap my head around the idea."

"Everything is okay?"

"Everything appears to be normal."

"Can I go with you next time?"

"You don't believe me?"

He rolls his eyes, "That is not what I am saying at all. I just want to be involved. I don't think that I should have to ask permission."

"You don't, and it was insensitive of me not to include you."

"What if he had told you that there was an abnormality?"

"It doesn't matter," she insists.

"Are you sure?"

"I have committed to seeing this through."

"What if they are purple, and have spots, and a tail?"

"You mean, what if I give birth to Barney?"

He smiles widely, "Yeah," he nods.

"I suppose that I will be too shocked to name them, so you will be forced to take over that task."

"Barney, and Baby-bop it is."

She rolls her eyes, "Why do you know that information?"

"There was a brief time in the nineties when I only got PBS, and sometimes I would catch part of it. I was so mesmerized by the overstimulating mix of colors, and songs that I couldn't look away. It was like a train wreck."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"You should probably be scared," he points out.

She nods, "I am scared that they are going to come out of me babbling about conspiracy theories, holding flashlights."

"Scully, that is a given."

"I did have dream about a pair of t-rex's running around the backyard, do you think that means something?"

"Did they look like twins?"

"They were wearing Knick's jersey's trying to play baseball with you," she answers him with a serious look on her face.

"A t-rex can't play baseball their arms are too short."

Her lips curl into a smile.

"You just made that up," he accuses her.

"So you're fine with whatever comes out as long as they have arms, and you can teach them how to play baseball?"

He nods, "That is what I am saying. They can be green, or blue, or even grey, but they have to have arms. I'll settle for one arm, at least then they can pitch."

"You have twisted sense of humor," she calls him out.

"I'm not the only one."


	11. Human Defects or Horns

"Is everything okay?" He asks her a baited question.

"In regards to what?" She tries to clarify.

"Gestational development?"

"Things appear to be progressing normally. No abnormalities have been noted."

"Are you okay?"

She breaks eye contact, and casts her glance to the floor. He stares at her in silence as he waits for a response. There continue to be dark circles under her eyes. She looks tired, and weary as she sits in front of him. He reaches out, and touches her hand.

"I know that you're not."

"How could I be? I am afraid of what is to come, Mulder."

"I know."

"Not just for myself. I am afraid for you, and our son."

"The future has always been a scary place, Scully."

"What are we going to do?"

"Keep living."

"The way that we are?"

"What do you want to change? I think we consider giving up the X-files. I think that it is too dangerous for all parties involved."

"Mulder, I am fine."

"But I know you," he points out, "If something happened, you would never forgive yourself."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Dana, I can't answer that for you."

"We should go to bed."

"Are you going to be able to sleep?" He questions.

"Probably not," she admits.

"What if I make you a nice cup of chamomile tea?"

"Remember that time…"

He cuts her off, "I am not a demon, and I am not going to poison your beverage because our offspring shows evidence of having horns, or even a tail."

"What if they did?" She quizzes.

"We will cut them off," he jokes.

She shakes her head, "I need you to be serious."

"Okay," he nods in agreement.

"Mulder, what is our plan if something is wrong?"

"For example?"

"What if they are not alien hybrids," she clarifies.

"And they just have normal human defects? Such as?"

"Down Syndrome."

"Didn't you just tell me that it doesn't matter what the result of the genetic testing is?"

"I did. I am just asking you what our plan of action would be."

"Suffocate them with love."

"I am being serious," she growls.

"One of us can stay home. I will stay home, I don't mind."

"What if I wanted to stay home?"

"That is fine, too. Scully we are worrying about things beyond our control. Why don't we just take things as they come along?"

"How do you propose we do that?"

"I suggest that we prepare by obtaining a good night sleep."

"Fine."

"Do you want me to make you tea?"

"Will you bring it to the bathtub?"

He grins, "If you insist."

Ten minutes later he finds her soaking in bubbles in the bathtub. He hands her a cup of tea, and takes a seat on the edge of the bathtub.

"Come find me when you have turned into a prune," he kisses her.

He is settled beneath the covers by the time she comes into the bedroom. She peels back their covers, and crawls into bed next to him. He inhales the scent of her soap. She rolls onto her side, to face him. She gazes into his eyes.

"What are you thinking Scully?"

"I missed this," she admits.

"You can go back to your place, and continue to miss it."

"It was so easy to come back here."

He runs his fingers through her hair, "That is because this is home. We are all here under one roof, and that should put you at ease."

"Is…"

He answers her question before she can ask it, "William is upside down in his bed, with one foot outside his covers snoring light a freight train."

"Why do you think he agreed to come live with us so quickly?"

"When part of you is missing you can feel it. We are his missing pieces, just as he is ours."

"By this time next year we will have added two more pieces to the puzzle."

"Maybe we should go to Disney."

Even in the dark he can tell that she is rolling her eyes. Her eyelids begin to flutter.

"You should go to sleep."

"I'm not tired."

"Good, I wanted to tell you what happened to me after you abandoned me at the office."

"I had an appointment."

"So, I was sitting there considering my next move…"

She interrupts, "When you decided to throw a dozen pencils into the ceiling tiles?"

"When my stomach growled."

"That is not unusual. I am sure you reached into your drawer, and grabbed your sunflower seeds."

"I didn't have any sunflower seeds in my drawer, because our son hijacked them on his way to school this morning. They were in the cup holder when I pulled up the school, and they were gone when I left."

"Are you going to confront him about this?"

"I already did, and he agreed to ask before stealing them next time."

"You could just buy two bags," she suggests.

"So," he continues, undeterred by her logic, and reasoning, "I grabbed some change and I went to the vending machine. You will never guess what I found."

"Sunflower seeds," she assumes.

"Wrong!"

She groans, "This is the most boring story I have ever heard in my life."

"Anyway, I heard this sound coming from the vending machine."

"It was a bomb," she guesses.

"It was this purring sound, and I thought the fan in the soda machine was going bad. I looked behind it, and I found nothing unusual. I reached inside the vending machine, and there was something inside of it."

"It had probably just been stocked. Was it a gremlin?"

"Close. It was furry. The vending machine guy was still there, so he opened it, and I found a kitten. I have no idea how it got in there. It is quite the mystery."

"Maybe you should start an X-file on it," she jokes.

"It had an X on its tiny little head. It was this orange tabby with a big black x on it's head."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I conferred with an expert source, and we thought that Xena would be an appropriate name."

She furrows her brow, "Who was this expert source?"

He shrugs, "You may know him, and you may not. I keep all of my sources confidential."

She falls silent. She listens to the sounds of the house. She hears the fan whirring overhead, and the clock ticking on the wall. She hears William snoring from down the hall, and something purring. She listens closely.

"Mulder, I swear! Dammit Mulder, that better be you purring!"

He reaches above his head onto his pillow, and peels off a ball of fur, and places it between them. The kitten awakens disoriented. It wanders around briefly, and then curls up next to Scully, closes its eyes, and begins purring again.

"It is clear she has adopted you as her new mother. You are welcome."

"I don't want a cat," she argues.

"How could you say no to her?"

"I am saying no to you," she argues.

"She was bathed, and vaccinated. I purchased necessary supplies, and our son has vowed to scoop the litter."

She picks up the cat, and rolls onto the other side. "I am done talking to you."


	12. In Between

She spends her night in a deep sleep. When she wakes in the morning she feels disoriented. She lies in the comfort of her bed, refusing to open her eyes. She feels something fuzzy next to her face, and begins to feel vibrations. The vibrations grow louder, and her ears are assaulted by the sound of purring. She opens her eyes, and finds a ball of orange fur lying on her pillow near her collar bone.

"At least you don't snore," she tells the kitten.

"Scully, I find that offensive," a voice next to her responds.

She rolls over, and finds Mulder lying next to her, reading a magazine. She furrows her brow, and tries to figure out what is going on.

"What time is it?" She asks him.

"Seven thirty," he answers.

"Why are you still in bed?"

"Our son is still in a deep slumber, so he wouldn't entertain me. The news has been deemed hopeless, and the cat I have rescued has deemed me unsuitable. She found her leader, and will not be bothered with me. In the end, I had no choice but to read Entertainment Weekly, and wait for you to wake up."

"Thank you for the play-by-play."

"How did you sleep?"

"Did you drug me last night?" Happen to be the first words that tumble from her mouth in response.

He tilts his head, "Why would you ask me that?"

"I haven't slept that soundly in… maybe decades," she admits.

"I didn't drug you. Sometimes I feel like you are the one who is having paranoid delusions. I know that is typically my role, but at some point in the recent past we underwent a role reversal."

"Mulder…"

"Hmm?"

"You need to shave," she stares at his scruff.

"Here I thought you were going to share something insightful, or prophetic."

She scoots a hair closer to him. He presses his lips to her forehead.

"Mulder I'm scared," she announces.

His facial expression softens, "I know."

"Why didn't you say anything?" She wonders.

"I usually anticipate that you are right, and I just wait for the evidence. In this case I hope that your genius brain is having an off day."

"Does it matter?" She queries.

He cocks an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Either way there is one reality that isn't going to change," she begins.

"Which is what?"

"I'm pregnant."

"Sometimes I think that you are making ups scenarios to distract yourself from the actual situation at hand."

"For example?"

"The real possibilities. Your age, and other complicating factors. I think that you're afraid something will go wrong," he shrugs, "Or maybe you are afraid of what will happen if it doesn't. Sometimes reality is scarier than the alternative."

"There are days when I ask myself if I can make it up another flight of stairs. How am I supposed to do this?"

He grins, "That is usually after the twentieth flight."

"It doesn't matter. I don't know how to do this."

"Do you ever feel like we are just running from our lives?"

She furrows her brow, "How many times have I said that? You are just now jumping on that bandwagon?"

"You're right. Chasing the truth is the same as running from our lives."

Her tone becomes more solemn, "We can't run from this."

"I don't know why you worry so much. You have a very natural maternal instinct, even Xena thinks so."

Scully looks down at the cat who is curled up on her chest. She shakes her head, "How does he have any point of reference for Xena, the warrior princess?"

"Apparently, our son is a rebel. I guess that he wasn't allowed to watch TV until after his homework got done, but re-runs of Xena came on right after school. He was mesmerized, and snuck into the den to watch it as dinner was being prepared each evening."

"I am deeply concerned," she announces.

"Regarding?"

"The very real possibility that these babies will end up like you, too."

He furrows his brow, "What do you mean, too?"

"In addition to our son."

"Scully, he has your smile," he insists.

She shakes her head, "I am not travelling down the rabbit hole with you this morning."

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"Do we still have fruit loops?"

He furrows his brow, "Since when do you eat fruit loops?"

She tries to recall the last time she had a bowl of fruit loops, "Never."

"You want fruit loops for breakfast? I'll make you some boring steel cut oats, just the way you like. We even have some fresh grapes in the crisper."

"I want fruit loops," she grimaces at the thought.

"Why are you making that face?" He questions.

"I feel like this is your fault," she admits.

"How could this possibly be my fault?"

"Your genetic material is effecting my choice of breakfast food."

He shrugs, "I am going to go eat the fruit loops. You stay up here, and continue to ponder that."

She makes it down the stairs a few minutes later, fully dressed. Mulder sits at the table with a spoonful of sugary delight. Scully procures the seat next to him, and pours the cereal into the bowl he has set out for her. Moments later a third individual joins them at the table. His hair is wild. He rubs his eyes, and Dana passes him the cereal. Xena sits under the table, waiting for sloppy seconds. William swallows a bite of fruit loops, and looks over at his mother. He scowls at her.

"Since when do you eat fruit loops? Where is your oatmeal? Are you okay?"

"I just felt like changing things up today," she defends her choice.

William locks eyes with her, "Says the creature of habit. You must be sick."

"Why would you say that?"

"If I were eating oatmeal right now, you would say the same thing to me," he points out.

"I'm not sick," she argues.

"So you just had a hankering for a bowl of fruit loops?" William probes.

"You could call it a craving, even," Mulder suggests.

Scully looks at Mulder, who avoids making eye contact with her. He can feel the daggers shooting out of her eyes.

"Is your blood sugar low? Is that why you're craving fruit loops?" William queries.

Dana shakes her head, "You should eat before your cereal gets soggy."

"There are two more boxes. What is going on? Obviously something is going on, that I'm not privy to."

"It's nothing," she reassures him.

He tilts his head, and scrutinizes her as she eats her cereal. He continues to eye her suspiciously as he shovels another bite of food into his mouth. Mulder sits across the table from his son, watching as the young man's wheels turn. Suddenly, he grimaces, and drops his spoon into the bowl.

"You two have been engaging in old people intercourse, haven't you?"

Dana's face suddenly goes a shade of white that even Mulder has never seen before. The white quickly transforms into a bright beet red, that he is more familiar with. William points to his mother.

"Is there something in there?"

"Not something," Mulder mutters under his breath. Scully kicks him under the table.


	13. Old And Weird

William rephrases the question, "Is there someone in there?"

Scully does not respond to the question. She finishes her cereal, and vacates her seat at the table. She places her bowl into the sink.

"Mom?"

She turns around, and looks at her son. Her face continues to be a bright hue of fresh beet. She exhales, and realizes that she can't keep the secret forever.

"Are you asking if I am pregnant?"

"I am, despite the fact that I feel it is quite preposterous," he answers.

"I would agree that it is quite preposterous," Dana replies.

"I would like to state for the record that despite the improbable nature of such an event, it is still possible," Mulder chimes in.

"Is that a yes?" William's eyes widen.

"Yes," Scully grits her teeth.

"Ew! Aren't we all weird enough? Now you are adding geriatric parents to your list of accomplishments?"

"William, I really appreciate your sense of humor," Mulder interjects.

Scully shakes her head, "Because he acts just like you."

"I said that I thought we were weird enough," William points out.

"She didn't even tell you the best part," Mulder grins from ear to ear.

"The best part? Dad, what are you talking about? Nothing could possibly make that worse. Is it going to filet you like that scene from alien versus predator?"

Scully can't help but chuckle, "No."

"Scully, I think that is a fair question given the circumstances," Mulder adds.

"What circumstances?" Scully quizzes.

"The spike of pregnancies after the alien virus," William jumps on the bandwagon.

"First of all, there has not yet been any credible scientific evidence to prove that the two are related. Second of all, your father should be ashamed of subjecting you to such baseless conjecture."

"He is the one that told me about it," Mulder admits.

Dana's eyes widen, "What?!"

"It was a story in my current events class," William explains.

"The two of you are incorrigible."

"You are trying to change the subject," William calls her out.

"I am pregnant. I feel that it is highly unlikely that they are aliens, or hybrids."

William locks eyes with her, "What do you mean, they?"

"They're twins," Mulder smiles.

"Twins! What is wrong with the two of you?!" He abruptly vacates his seat at the table. He races up the stairs. When he reaches his room, the door slams.

Mulder looks at Scully, "Well, I think that went as well as could be expected."

"Thank you for the support, Mulder."

"My pleasure."

"You hung me out to dry."

"I'm sorry. It was free entertainment."

"Maybe next time you could watch a movie, instead," she suggests.

"I'm sorry."

"Are we old?"

"Scully, our son is just voicing the same things that we are thinking. I mean we will be senior citizens before they are through high school."

"Should I go talk to him?"

"Scully, he is a teenaged boy. He will be over it in no time. In a couple of hours he will be pilfering around the kitchen for food, again."

"That is because he is your son."

"I never had any doubt."

"I think I am going to go for a walk."

"To where?" He questions.

She shrugs, "I don't know," as she heads towards the door. He dumps the bowls into the sink, and returns the milk to the fridge. He follows her out the door. Much to his surprise she is waiting for him on the porch.

"You didn't have to wait for me."

"You would have just chased me down," she submits.

He reaches for her hand, "You know me too well."

For several moments they walk in silence. There is a light wind blowing, as they walk. He breaks the silence.

"Scully?"

"Hm?"

"You know that there is no one that I would rather be old, and weird with, than you."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Yes."

She laughs, "There is no one that I would rather embark on the journey of geriatric parenting with."

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

"I can't stop thinking about that scene…" she digresses.

"I would consider not thinking about that when you are in labor, and delivery," he advises.

"Mulder where are we going to put two babies?"

"I can clean out the office," he suggests.

"And let them sleep down stairs?"

"No. We could see if William wanted to move away from the old, weird folks, and consider a first floor location."

"When did you become the logical one?"

"I think that the pregnancy hormones are going to your brain."


	14. Awkward

"Or it could be that my DNA is being inundated with alien DNA, and I am merely beginning my transformation," Scully teases.

"Did you ever consider the possibility, that I have been wrong all of this time, and you were right? Maybe there is no alien conspiracy here. It is quite possible that we are just getting a second chance at all of the things we did wrong the first time. Have you stopped to consider that maybe, just maybe, God is giving us a second chance?"

Scully stops dead in her tracks, turning to face Mulder. Her eyes widen, "I don't think that I heard you correctly."

"You did," he assures her.

"I certainly had not considered that you had considered that alternative."

"I am just trying to look at things from a new perspective."

"That is scary. It is terrifying, really."

"Why?"

"Because I have known you to be open minded about every possibility, other than any perspective but your own."

"I am trying to be serious here," Mulder points out.

"I am sorry."

"When did you become so facetious, and flippant?"

"I am pretty sure it was somewhere around the time that you implanted not one, but two lives into my womb."

He chuckles, "You were there too."

"I thought it was like a library in there," she responds.

"A library?"

"Dusty, quiet, and typically empty," she grins, as they reach the end of the driveway.

They turn back, and find a familiar figure standing on the porch waiting for them. When they make it back, William has found a seat on the porch swing. He vacates his seat, and moves towards them.

"I am sorry I was so weird earlier," he apologizes.

"In your defense it is probably genetic. You get it from your dad," Scully smiles.

"What does all of this mean?" He questions.

Mulder shrugs, "What do you mean?"

William breaks eye contact, and shifts his glance to the dusty Chuck Taylor's on his feet. "For me," he says nearly inaudibly.

Mulder furrows his brow, "Will, what do you mean?"

"Have a seat," Scully suggests.

He takes a seat, and silently folds his arms across his chest. He continues to focus on the dingy shoe laces of his dark grey sneakers. Scully takes a seat in the chair next to the porch swing. Mulder lowers himself onto the railing of the porch.

"I am certain that things are going to change, but we are not going anywhere. William, do you hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am," he says quietly.

"Look at me," she insists.

He makes eye contact, "Okay."

"No one is going anywhere, including you," she clarifies.

"Oh."

Mulder picks up on the facial expression on his son's face, and the message that Scully is trying to deliver.

"What your mom is trying to say is that while the house is going to be busier, and louder things between the three of us are not going to change. The way that we feel about you is never going to change. We love you to infinity, and beyond, and that is never going to change."

"What if you like them better?" He questions.

"They will probably have tails anyway," Mulder jokes.

William grins for a split second, "And a face only a mother could love."

"Let's just hope that they are girls, so that I quit getting ganged up on," Scully rebuts.

"Ew, girls," William grimaces.

"Girls can't play baseball," Mulder jokes.

"Speaking of games, I was thinking that we should probably teach mom how to play dungeons, and dragons," William suggests.

Scully shakes her head, "I have lived that, so I will pass."

"I would probably settle on scrabble," William counters.

"Why? You hate scrabble."

"I may or may not have recently received, a scrabble dictionary. I memorized all of the words, and am certain that both of you are going down."

"Cheater," Mulder teases.

"I think that your dad is afraid that you're going to beat the pants off him."

"I bet you ten bucks that I win," he wagers, as he locks eyes with Mulder.

"Let's make it a little more interesting. If you lose you have to scoop the cat litter for a month."

"You're on."


	15. In The Woods

She is lying on the couch, with a book on her chest. William, and Mulder enter the house through the front door. Mulder shushes William, and they quietly head into the kitchen to unload groceries. When they are finished William looks over at his father.

"Should we wake her?" He questions.

"No just let her sleep," Mulder responds.

"I'm going to go upstairs and finish my homework."

"Okay, I'll tuck her in."

William nods, and heads up the stairs. Mulder heads into the living room, and quietly takes the book out of Scully's hand. He places it on the coffee table, and reaches for the blanket on the back of the couch. He squats next to the couch for a few moments, just watching her. Her stomach is noticeably round these days. There is no denying the truth. He smiles thinking about the idea of two more chances to get things right. He exhales, and places the blanket over her.

"I'm not asleep," she insists.

"I am sure that you are just resting your eyes."

He notices the tiny warrior princess tucked between her side, and the back of the couch.

"Xena, and I are quite content here. I didn't want to disturb her once she fell asleep."

"She lives with us, I am fairly certain she is already disturbed."

"I didn't want to wake her, after she finally tuckered out."

"She is an angel," he grins.

"She is a terrorist who destroyed the shower curtain while I was attempting to take a shower. We both ended up receiving a shower. I know have a lovely battle wound thanks to her impromptu bathing."

"She seems happy now," he glances over at the sleeping kitten.

"What made you think that we needed a kitten?"

"She is hardly a kitten anymore. She is practically a cat. They grow up so fast."

"They grow up to be fat? I agree. You have to quit feeding her so much."

"She loves that cat chow," he argues, "She tells me so."

"You are becoming even weirder than previously thought possible."

"You are growing even more pregnant. Not much we can do about either thing," he points out.

She shifts into a seated position. He takes a seat next to her. Without a word he slips his arm around her.

"How are my major league babies doing today?"

"They seem rather content dancing on my bladder."

"Are you sure that this is really happening?"

"I am reassured by the fact that my ribs feel as if they have contusions that were obtained from the inside."

* * *

That night she wakes up in a cold sweat. She sits up in bed, and looks around. The room is still, and there is very little noise. She listens closely, and hears only normal background noise, such as purring, snoring, and the fan whirring. Her hand immediately gravitates towards her stomach. One baby flips, while the other flops. She slides out of bed, and finds her way into her son's room. She finds him sitting at the edge of his bed. She flips on his lamp, and takes a seat next to him.

"What's wrong?"

He shrugs, "I don't feel very good," he admits. She presses her hand to his head. He is burning up. Without a word he rockets out of the room. She follows him into the bathroom. When he is finished vomiting she wipes his face with a cool rag. He brushes his teeth, and sweats profusely.

"My stomach hurts," he tells her.

"Where?"

He points to a general location. She presses her hand to his abdomen, and when she releases he winces in pain.

"Mulder?" she calls. Within seconds he is standing at her side.

"What's wrong?" He questions.

"I think that his appendix has ruptured."

They head out of the house in their pajamas. Mulder helps William into the back of the SUV. Scully climbs in behind him with a trashcan, a couple of cool washcloths, and some towels. She buckles in, as they race down the driveway. Will's head lies in her lap. By the time that they reach he hospital Will is in excruciating pain. They quickly whisk him away for imaging. In less than hour he is in surgery.

Scully, and Mulder sit in a waiting room, as the minutes tick by. He holds her hand, and waits for some news. Eventually the surgeon comes out. He pulls his mask off, and approaches them.

"William did have a ruptured appendix. We are going to start him on antibiotics, and monitor him for a while. He is headed back to recovery now. You can join him once they get him settled in. The surgery went well. A nurse will come out and get the two of you."  
As the doctor walks away Mulder sighs in relief. He looks over, and finds that Scully still appears incredibly worried.

"He's okay."

"Rationally, I think I know that."

"What's wrong?"

She shrugs, "I guess I am just terrified of losing him. I can't imagine living another day of my life without him. We must be crazy, because we are doing this again in a matter of months, and there are two of them."

"Everything is going to be okay," he reassures her as he hugs her to his side.

"You sound certain."

"I am. Everything is going to be okay, because you are their mom. You were made for this."

"I should have done something sooner. I know that he said he didn't feel good earlier. I just assumed it was the two bags of sunflower seeds he ate this morning."

"This is not your fault. These things happen. He is going to be okay, thanks to you. You knew what was going on right away. We got him here, and he is going to be okay."

"We aren't out of the woods yet."

"Scully, we spend a lot of time in the woods," he grins.

She nearly grins too.


End file.
